Lazy? Cheap? Nissan Shows Off the Self-Cleaning Car!

Alexander Stoklosa

Apr 24, 2014

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As enthusiasts, we love taking pride in our cars, whether it’s performing our own oil changes, swapping suspension bits, or washing them by hand. But we understand our can-do spirit is probably lost on a bunch of folks—okay, most folks—and so, too, does Nissan. The automaker is testing a special paint treatment that will make car-washing sessions a thing of the past.

You got a little something there . . . no, your right.

Nissan’s probably struck gold here, not only because the tech is neat, but because its test subject for the detritus-repellent paint is a Note hatch, which is a lot like the Versa Note we get here, a car for people who just don’t care. These folks are prime customers for a technology that promises to allow them an at least partially carefree after-sales experience.

With the time you’ll save not washing your car, you can watch the sun set with it more.

The paint tech is quite clever. Developed by UltraTech International Inc, it’s called Ultra-Ever Dry—leaving the door open for Super Mega Ultra-Ever Dry, natch—and it appears one simply sprays it on over a car’s paint and immediately repels water, dirt, and more. (Check out the video below for a preview, as well as some goofy music.) Nissan describes the coating as as “super-hydrophobic and oleophobic” and, ahem, notes that it doesn’t necessarily plan to make the Ultra-Ever Dry stuff standard on future models.

Instead, the company is open to the idea of making it an optional accessory, following the classic Joe Schmoe Plaid Jacket used-car sales guy profit-padding model. We think this tech has an excellent future, one that extends beyond just Nissans.